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About Fort Pillow
In Response To: Forrest-Ken Burns ()

The Fort Pillow siege and battle have of course two sides and that there was a hot battle, there is no question about it.

The definition "massacre" are a hash word to use on what happend, but that there was irregularities one have to agree.

The battle of Fort Pillow was fired up in media, and it was due to that there was an majority of black soldiers defending the fort.

Forrest did always ask for surrender of it`s opponents, and so he did in this case too. If an opponent didn`t accept it - he notified there would be no mercy when the battle was on. This was the case with the battle of Fort Pillow.

One have to also have in mind that Sherman and Grant wanted to "pin" Forrest as an "outlaw" and "beast" in the public mind. One other side of it was it was used as an excuse to stop exchange of prisoners too. So, the battle of Fort Pillow had a political side too.

There are also other important details with the battle in difference with many others for Forrest:

- The soldiers on both sides was from the same area of TN - many was in fact neighbors.
- Many of the black soldiers was former slaves of several of the men in Forrests force.
- Before the attack on the fort there had been heated exchange of comments and talk between the lines.
- The defenders of the fort had when the battle began little ammunition.
- There was allot of hand to hand combat inside the fort.

If one look at it in all - one can understand the battle became more heated than others due to the details above.But, to state that this battle was more cruel than others in content - I have to disagree. I do understand both sides standings and views, but we`ll never get the objective judgement of the battle. War as we know - are subjective.

Roy H

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Well Said!!! *NM*
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About Fort Pillow
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